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claire60's review
1.0
Feminist satire read on the train to Oxford, not that great to be honest one idea not executed that well.
melaninny's review
4.0
I found this book at a used book sale and bought it as a joke, but then when I got home I read it in one gulp. The premise is absolutely absurd--Rita loses her uterus, she thinks at the mall. The whacky premise only escalates as the book continues. Yeah, it's gross, and that's why it's great.
I loved it. I thought it was hilarious and brilliant satire about how women are treated and how they treat themselves, and about the perils of being a young woman who is not yet interested in reproducing. I've talked to a few people about the book who didn't really get what it was parodying. I'm going to include a few of my favorite quotes in this review that I think make the satire obvious.
"On the third day the phone calls begin. George tries twice to make love to her but tells her the thought of her womb out in the world somewhere so cold and lifeless kills his erection every time.
'We've got to get it back,' is all he will say, his limp penis resting in his hand, curled up like a bad memory." pg. 8-9
"On her way out of the mall Rita gets down on her hands and knees, feeling along the coldness of the tile. Her life has gone to hell in a handbasket, she thinks, her lacquered nails scraping over the floor. When she is about to give up, a woman with a stroller comes barreling toward her, the wheels running over Rita's hands.
'For God's sake, can't you see how low I've sunk?' she screams at the woman. But the woman doesn't stop, she and her baby laughing at Rita as they round the corner on two wheels.
One of the men from the mall security comes and helps her to her feet.
'You've got to be careful, lady,' the man says, his eyes round and full of concern. 'Anything can happen at the mall.'" pg. 13-14
If I have a critique of this book it's that the gag is too long, and very repetitive. She smacks you in the face with her repeated imagery--red high-heeled shoes, scrambled eggs, Cheerios with cold milk, the white hair of Rod Nodderman of "The Nodderman Show", the frenzied charcoal drawings of George's penis. Though all of her imagery is carefully chosen, every one of these things was mentioned a few dozen times too many. I don't wish it was much shorter, because the pacing was actually pretty refreshing and consistent, but I think it could have benefited from some slight editing down.
I'm sure this book isn't for everyone, but it captivated me in unexpected ways. And one thing you can say about it for sure, is that it is completely unique. There is no other book out there like it.
Spoiler
Eventually men are masturbating in front of shoe stores, another woman's vagina seals shut in solidarity, and a dog dies from licking up too much menstrual blood.I loved it. I thought it was hilarious and brilliant satire about how women are treated and how they treat themselves, and about the perils of being a young woman who is not yet interested in reproducing. I've talked to a few people about the book who didn't really get what it was parodying. I'm going to include a few of my favorite quotes in this review that I think make the satire obvious.
"On the third day the phone calls begin. George tries twice to make love to her but tells her the thought of her womb out in the world somewhere so cold and lifeless kills his erection every time.
'We've got to get it back,' is all he will say, his limp penis resting in his hand, curled up like a bad memory." pg. 8-9
"On her way out of the mall Rita gets down on her hands and knees, feeling along the coldness of the tile. Her life has gone to hell in a handbasket, she thinks, her lacquered nails scraping over the floor. When she is about to give up, a woman with a stroller comes barreling toward her, the wheels running over Rita's hands.
'For God's sake, can't you see how low I've sunk?' she screams at the woman. But the woman doesn't stop, she and her baby laughing at Rita as they round the corner on two wheels.
One of the men from the mall security comes and helps her to her feet.
'You've got to be careful, lady,' the man says, his eyes round and full of concern. 'Anything can happen at the mall.'" pg. 13-14
If I have a critique of this book it's that the gag is too long, and very repetitive. She smacks you in the face with her repeated imagery--red high-heeled shoes, scrambled eggs, Cheerios with cold milk, the white hair of Rod Nodderman of "The Nodderman Show", the frenzied charcoal drawings of George's penis. Though all of her imagery is carefully chosen, every one of these things was mentioned a few dozen times too many. I don't wish it was much shorter, because the pacing was actually pretty refreshing and consistent, but I think it could have benefited from some slight editing down.
I'm sure this book isn't for everyone, but it captivated me in unexpected ways. And one thing you can say about it for sure, is that it is completely unique. There is no other book out there like it.
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